Wooden it be nice to have a real surfboard

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Drop in ... modern boards are being donated to Papua New Guinea islanders who make do with wooden ones.Photo: James Alcock

On the beach in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea, even though there are
perfect waves, there are only a few surfboards to go around.

Locals wait their turn on the beach, biding time playing
cards.

If a surfer hogs the board, they shout, whistle and yell from
the beach for him to come in.

Further up the coast the waves are even better. This is a more
primitive world - grass huts and no white faces. Locals surf on
planks of wood roughly fashioned into the shape of the board.

They are thought to be the world's earliest surfers - before
even the Polynesians. Before colonisation, they were involved in
ceremonies calling to the sea and rode on boards made from
rainforest timber.

Next week, 31-year-old Sydneysider Jess Ponting will visit
villages of Papua New Guinea bearing 30 boards donated by surfers
and businesses around Sydney.

A board signed by world surfing champion Layne Beachley has
already been earmarked for a girl who owns a surfboard but never
gets to use it as male villagers are always borrowing it from
her.

"The boards are being shared, but she doesn't get to use it as
in the village girls are often overlooked," he said.

Completing his PhD in surf tourism, Mr Ponting said the beaches
of Papua New Guinea are becoming increasingly popular for
Australian surfers looking for great waves without the crowds.

Surfers are migratory creatures - often moving to more and more
remote places looking for the perfect break: "In Sydney you may get
perfect surf four or five times a year. In Papua New Guinea, it is
four or five times a week."

But he admits he is nervous about too many visitors. "I'm
interested in helping develop sustainable tourism that is sensitive
to and can help the local people," he said.

Examples of non-sustainable tourism include resorts being built
in villages, westerners walking through villages in inappropriate
clothes and wear and tear on the environment.

"Surfers will sleep on a dirt floor if they can get a good
wave," he said. "But having some form of tourism is also a good way
to kick-start the local economy.

"Villagers can benefit if they are employed as guides and if
surfers give something back by paying a reef fee to help maintain
the environment."